


Thank you.

by what_am_i_even_doing_tho



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Knights know about Merlin's magic, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Non-Graphic Violence, Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), Protective Arthur, Protective Merlin, could be seen as platonic or romantic, non-graphic injury, they use their words, too many tags wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_am_i_even_doing_tho/pseuds/what_am_i_even_doing_tho
Summary: Merlin gets hurt on patrol and an argument ensues.(Takes place sometime after S4E3, so Arthur is king. Lancelot is still there, however. No real spoilers.)
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 402





	Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> This one was an oldie that recently got completely rewritten. It was supposed to go in a totally different direction than this, but I hated it with a fiery, burning passion. I kept most of the dialogue and scrapped everything else. Now there's this.
> 
> (P.S. I will not always post this frequently. I'm dusting off the old fics on my laptop right now; a bunch of them are already completed and just need editing. Once I get through all the oldies and I'm writing from scratch again, I can't promise I'll post this often.)

Arthur and his knights, along with Merlin, had gone out scouting. In Merlin’s opinion, that was just asking for trouble. Nothing good ever came from patrolling. If it wasn’t bandits, it was people Morgana had hired to take out Arthur. If it wasn’t someone hired, it was Morgana herself. If it wasn’t Morgana, it was some magical beast. So on and so forth.

Considering this, Merlin was understandably tense. He jumped at every noise, and he was constantly using his magic to scan their surroundings. Of course Arthur noticed, because how could he not? And as expected, he decided to tease his poor manservant.

“What’s the problem, Merlin? Afraid a little rabbit will come out and attack us?” Arthur chuckled and a few of the knights joined in.

Percival guided his horse over to Merlin’s and clapped him on the shoulder roughly. “It’s okay, Merlin. We’ll protect you from any evil rabbits.”

Merlin scowled at them and directed his horse away. “It’s not funny. Bad things always happen when we patrol. I’m just trying to-” Merlin was cut off when he heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow being released and hitting a tree.

With a mighty yell, a group of bandits came crashing through the trees and onto the path. The knights all drew their swords as one while Merlin pushed his hands forward and sent out a blast of magic that knocked all of the bandits off their feet.

From there, the fight was simple; clearly the bandits had underestimated their quarry. The thugs were dispatched within a timely manner, and none of the knights sustained any injuries more serious than a scratch. 

Throwing his hands up in frustration, Merlin groaned. “See!? This is exactly what I was talking about!”

“Relax, Merlin,” Gwaine laughed. “That was nothing. We hardly even needed your help.”

Merlin frowned and grumbled under his breath, “Yes, well, my point still stands.”

Suddenly, Merlin caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over at the knights to see if they noticed, but they had all dismounted and were talking to each other. With a huff, Merlin got off of his own horse and made his way over to where he had seen the movement. He noticed nothing amiss and frowned to himself. Maybe the others were right. Maybe he was being too paranoid.

With a shrug Merlin turned back around, and his eyes widened with shock when he saw a lone bandit sneaking towards Arthur with a sword in hand. Instinctually, Merlin reached to his magic and used it to propel him forward and into the path of the bandit’s rapidly descending sword.

Pain exploded across his chest as the sword slashed him, and Merlin heard the cries of his friends when they saw his body fall. Lancelot lunged forward with his sword and stabbed the bandit through the gut, glaring venomously as he yanked his sword back out.

Leon, Elyan, and Percival scanned their surroundings, looking for any more bandits that might’ve gotten away. Meanwhile, Arthur had fallen to the ground beside Merlin, who was struggling to maintain consciousness.

Merlin could see Arthur’s lips moving but couldn’t hear what he was saying. It felt like his chest was on fire, and he was starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss. The last thing he saw before he succumbed to darkness was his king’s concerned face peering down at him.

``````````````````````````````````````

Merlin opened his bleary eyes, feeling disoriented. His head pounded, and his chest hurt. Above him he saw a familiar ceiling and he glanced to the side to confirm his suspicions: he was in his room in Camelot. Merlin glanced to the other side and was startled to see Arthur leveling him with a heated glare.

“H-hi, Arthur.” Merlin croaked out. His throat felt rough, and he craved a drink to sate his thirst. Seemingly reading his mind, Arthur reached to the side where Merlin’s bedside table resided and procured a goblet filled with what Merlin could only assume was water. With a gentleness to rival the glare still being sent Merlin’s way, Arthur lifted his head slightly and held the goblet to his lips. Merlin drank greedily, and once the goblet was empty Arthur lowered his head onto the pillow.

Merlin shifted awkwardly as Arthur put the goblet down, confused at the silent treatment he was receiving. Finally, he couldn’t handle it any longer, and he opened his mouth to speak.

“Arth-”

“Merlin, you absolute idiot!” Arthur yelled, effectively cutting him off. “What were you thinking? Oh wait, that’s right, you weren’t. Do you have no sense of self-preservation? It seems that every other day you almost get yourself killed!”

Indignation rushed through Merlin with dizzying speed, and he felt his cheeks flush with anger. “Would it kill you to be grateful for once, you prat? I just saved your life. Again.”

Arthur’s already menacing glare took on a murderous glint. “I’m sorry, what was that?” He asked slowly, fury dripping from every word.

Normally, Merlin would be cowed in the face of such anger from his king, but he was too furious himself to care.

“Would it kill you to be grateful for once!?” Merlin all but shouted.

“Merlin, I-” Arthur started, but Merlin interrupted him.

“You can’t possibly begin to understand how much I’ve sacrificed for you!” He seethed. “The people I’ve lost, the things that I’ve done. All of it was for you, and-“

“I never asked you to-”

“You didn’t need to! It was always my choice.” Merlin’s anger left him as soon as it appeared, and now his voice was quiet with hurt. “I don’t regret it—I’d do it all again in a heartbeat—but it hurts, Arthur. Have you ever thought that maybe you could thank me for protecting you instead of yelling?”

Arthur heaved a sigh. “It’s not your job to protect me, Merlin. That’s what my knights are for. Magic or not, that isn’t your place.”

“Yes, it is! This is exactly what I meant when I said that you’d never understand! You just don’t get it.” Merlin looked away from Arthur, not willing to see the anger and confusion in his king’s eyes.

Silence prevailed for a moment before Arthur spoke softly, “Then make me understand.”

“I can’t.” Merlin whispered sadly.

“Why not?” Arthur asked. “You think that I, of all people, don’t understand responsibility and obligation? Me, the king of Camelot? You think I don’t understand the desire to protect what I care about? That I don’t understand the pain of loss, the pain of seeing the ones who mean the most to me hurt?” Arthur looked pointedly at Merlin’s bandaged chest.

Merlin’s head snapped up, and Arthur was amused to see that he looked absolutely bewildered. “I—w-what?” The servant stuttered.

“You heard me.” Arthur said with a soft, fond smile on his face.

“But-but I’m just a servant.”

“God, you really are an idiot.” Arthur chuckled. “You haven’t been ‘just a servant’ for a very long time, Merlin.”

“What? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Must I spell it out for you? You’re my best friend. You’re the one person I can always count on. The one person I can always trust. Of course it hurts when you throw yourself headlong into danger to protect me. If I lost you, I… I don’t know what I’d do, Merlin. “

Merlin’s eyes took on a distinctly watery look, and Arthur groaned internally. His servant always had been a bit of a girl. “I… Do you mean that?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t lie about this, you dollophead.”

The servant offered a small smile and muttered, “That’s my word.”

“Not anymore, it’s not.”

Merlin sighed quietly and looked away again, smile dropping off his face. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I just… I have the power to help you, so I can’t just sit back and risk you getting hurt. I would never forgive myself if you died because I didn’t do everything I could to try to save you.”

“I know… But you must be more careful.” When Merlin didn’t respond, Arthur added, “Please, Merlin.”

Shocked that Arthur had said ‘please,’ Merlin conceded. “Okay. I’ll try, Arthur.”

“Promise?”

“Yes,” He smiled. “I promise.”

“Good.” Arthur was fully prepared to leave the conversation at that, ready to retreat after wounding his Pendragon pride by discussing feelings. He got up and tousled Merlin’s hair. At the doorway he paused, though, when he remembered what Merlin had said at the very beginning of the argument.

Arthur sighed quietly and turned back around to face his friend, lamenting inwardly about how girly he felt.

“And Merlin? Thank you.”

The wide, goofy grin he received in return was worth any manliness and dignity he had lost in the process, not that he would ever tell Merlin that.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


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